Boost your immunity with ba wang hua and pork rib soup
You do not need to be an expert to make soup. You can have this simple but nutritious meal with rice, or have it on its own if you want to cut down on carbs.
Sold in dried form, ba wang hua (dried night-blooming cereus) is a flower that is believed in traditional Chinese medicine to help with detoxification.
The flowers are usually used in soups. When boiled, they add a sweet gumminess to it.
Red dates help nourish the blood and figs are beneficial to the digestive system.
Chinese physician Cheong Chin Siong suggests adding nan bei xing (Chinese apricot kernels) as they help moisten the lungs, relieve dryness in the throat and reduce phlegm. He recommends taking this soup once or twice a week.
Ba wang hua and pork rib soup
- 1.8 litres of water (for blanching)
- 2 pork bones (500g), cracked into two
- 500g spare ribs (cut into 7cm by 8cm pieces)
- 3.8 litres of water
- 100g ba wang hua, well-rinsed
- 10 small red dates (17g)
- 1 honey date (20g)
- 4 chilled figs (60g)
- 20g nan bei xing (Chinese apricot kernels)
- 1 heaped tsp salt
1. Bring 1.8 litres of water to a boil in a pot. Blanch the pork bones and spare ribs until there is no visible blood.
2. Discard the water, rinse the pork bones and spare ribs and set aside.
3. Bring 3.8 litres of water to a boil in a clean pot. Place the blanched pork bones and spare ribs inside.
4. Add the ba wang hua, red dates, honey date, chilled figs and nan bei xing.
5. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer covered for 1 1/2 hours.
6. Season with salt. Stir well and cover for five minutes.
7. Turn off the heat and serve.
Hed Chef will continue to appear in The New Paper every fortnight
FOLLOW HEDY KHOO @HEDCHEFHEDYKHOO ON INSTAGRAM FOR MORE CULINARY ADVENTURES